NOTD: NerdLacquer "All of Time and Space"

Hi all! My apologies for the lack of posts in the past few days, but I've been busy working on my Etsy shop, PolishedPerfection. All my current jewelry items are listed and Ive been working on logos, mailing supplies, and new products! Check it out!!!

Onto serious business. Today's NOTD is a truly unique (to me, at least) mix of colors from NerdLacquer. "All of Time and Space" is part of the Mad Man with a Box trio (inspired by the TV show "Dr. Who"). I've been lusting after this shade for a while, and finally picked it up recently when Nerdlacquer's store opened (very briefly before everything sold out!).

AOTAS is a seafoam green shimmer base with micro and medium hex glitter in two colors: silver and purple. That's right -- PURPLE! It sounds hideous, but the contrast in colors plays out very nicely in this polish. The formula is a bit sheer, but nothing that an opaque coat of base color can't help with.

I was a bit unsure of how to wear this color when I sat down to do my nails. It seemed that none of the "base" colors I own would work with AOTAS -- Essie's "Navigate Her" was too green, "Turquoise & Cacios" too blue...........so, I decided to use just 1 coat of OP Funny Bunny to give AOTAS something to build on (also because I just received it and wanted to check out the application!). Over the base, I used 2 coats of AOTAS. The color seems fully developed but I think next time I will do 3 coats for better opacity.

Natural light:

Look at all that glitter!!!!!! I love it so much :)

And here's one shot with flash:

I did use a coat of Gelous over the 2 coats of AOTAS to even out the finish. I find that even if a glitter polish doesn't feel gritty before topcoat, it will probably still be "hungry' and suck up that layer of topcoat if I don't put something on after the glitter polish. Seche Vite finished it up and I was super happy with the color!

Make sure you stop by NerdLacquer's Etsy shop  and sign up for notification of when the talented Miss Amanda will be back from vacation --- trust me, you want some of this glittery goodness!

Adventures In Stamping: Zebra Stripes

I mentioned "cheat manis" in a previous post and thought I'd show a perfect example! Cheat manis are when I take an existing mani that might just be a bit dull, and change it up with stamping, glitter topcoats, crackle topcoats........whatever catches my eye! This trick is great for when you're bored with your mani and it's still in good shape, you don't have time to change polish but want a different look, or when you're like me and you're too lazy to start from scratch!!

My Zoya "Freja" and Glitter Gal "10 to Midnight" mani was super pretty, but kind of plain for my taste. My boyfriend got me the Bundlemonster 21 plate pack from Amazon to encourage me to work on my stamping skills (I had voiced frustration with stamping a few weeks back) so I thought it would be a perfect time to test out the plates, try a more subtle stamp effect than my last go-round, and give my mani a new lease on life! Plus, I was running short on time before dinner with friends (as usual) and a quick round of stamping was the only thing I could fit in before we had to split.

My subtle zebra creation (BOO BAD CLEANUP):

I used the BM-223 plate for the zebra stripes, and stamped in Konad Special Polish in black. I put a coat of Seche Vite over top to seal the design, and done! I was really happy with how this turned out -- this is the first time I've been successful in full nail designs (with the exception of my thumb, it overlapped a bit when I went to line up a 2nd stamp because my nails are bigger than the design) and I was really liking how the holo shone through the stripes.

Holo peeking though:

I had a hard time not staring at my hands all through dinner! My one complaint is that Konad Special Polish in black is SO HARD to clean off my cuticles! I should have done one more pass with acetone before posting these, but I'll blame the distracting rainbows on my fingers!

It even looks cool in black and white (thanks Instagram!):

In the future I'll have to try more holo polishes as base for full nail stamps! I'm thinking some leopard print stamped over a pink jelly holo franken I created would be sweet! I need more stamping polishes, but am kind of reluctant to try more Konad SP so I'm slowly testing out existing polishes I have that might be opaque enough (only winner so far: Rescue Beauty Lounge "Piu Mosso"!). This mani will probably hang out on my tips for a few more days -- I like it too much to take it off just yet!

REVIEW: Nostalgic Nail Lacquer "Andie"

Oh, Nostalgic Nail Lacquer........how I love you so! I can NOT say enough wonderful things about their polishes - and even though I have eleventy billion polishes to try (not to mention swatch and review, let alone a full mani) I keep gravitating towards their shades -I can't resist the glitter!!! Today, I have NNL's "Andie" to review.

Nostalgic Nail Lacquer is an indie brand found on Etsy. "Andie" is from the Bizarre Teenage Love Triangle trio - the polishes are named after characters in "Pretty in Pink" -- Andie, Duckie and Blaine. Here's all 3 polishes:

Duckie, Andie, Blaine

Cute packaging! The labels make the glass look frosted, and I love the fonts they used for the polish names! Simple and effective.

Andie is a milky pink jelly base with large pink hex glitter and small purple glitter. The jelly base is not very pigmented (would still show VNL and that's not my style) so here I have shown it over a base of Essie "To Buy or Not to Buy", a pale lavender. This does give the polish a slight purple tint in the pictures, but "Andie" is pigmented enough to hold its shade with 2 coats.

Daylight:

Direct sunlight (just trying out different angles and light sources for best representation):

I really liked the consistency of "Andie" -- the jelly was thick enough to apply evenly, and the glitter was not too difficult to work with. As with "Duckie", I had to work with the hex glitter to get it evenly distributed on the nail, but I don't mind a bit of work for such an amazing polish! I love everything about it -- the colors, the finish, the glitter.............it's almost like pink polka dots floating in a sea of pink jello! Or maybe I just analyze things too much. Hmm...

My experience with NNL during purchase and shipping was nothing but positive. My polishes were shipped fast, and well wrapped. The Bizarre Teenage Love Triangle trio was actually my second purchase, and I have no doubt I'll be back for more!

Verdict: Yes, please. Soft, pretty, squishy glitter perfection! Definitely a keeper. When NNL restocks their Etsy store, snag a Bizarre Teenage Love Triangle trio while you can!

Polish Peep Show: Lacquistry and All That Glitters!

I got some killer nail mail today! Today's packages were 2  "indie" brands I found on Etsy that are stocked with some seriously sparkly polishes! If you haven't tried anything other than mainstream brands, now is the time to check out indie brands -- these polishes are made with love by women who love lacquer, so you know they are going to be good!

First up, we have a quartet of polishes by the lovely Jenna of Lacquistry! Lacquistry is the first "indie" polish brand I ever tried, thanks to a random search on Etsy one night. Her polishes are PACKED with hex glitter, micro glitter, shimmer, even duochrome shades! I can NOT get enough of them -- I think this is my 4th or 5th order.

First up, "Frosty Marrow" and "Chocolate Covered Cherries":

"Frosty Marrow" looked like a great topcoat for what I like to call my "cheat manis". When I'm wearing a one-shade mani, and I get bored with it, I just slap on a crackle topcoat, a chunky glitter, or a shimmery sheer shade to change the look and avoid having to re-do my nails. Because I'm suuuuuuuuuuuuuper lazy :) "Chocolate Covered Cherries" looked amazingly sparkly, and boy was I right! I swatched it quickly when I received it and the sparkle is deep. I'm looking forward to layering it over a deep brown or red shade.

Next is "Devil's Dandruff" and "Valentine Shards" -- me likey irregular glitter:

Such a nice change of pace from most glitter these days. Don't get me wrong -- it should be clear by now that I love me some glitter (especially hex!). But after seeing so much hex, circle and square glitter these days I really can't wait to try out these irregular "shards"! They seem to be more like the mylar flakes in the Zoya Fleck polishes, but I haven't really tested them out much so not sure. "Devil's Dandruff" is a generous helping of red shards in a red jelly base that has no shimmer. "Valentine Shards" is pink shards in a clear base. I like that these have no shimmer in the base, to be honest -- it would almost be overkill between shimmer and the shards if they did (I can't believe I just said that, but it's true).

The 2nd package was a trio from All That Glitters (just a coincidence, I totally did NOT know about this shop when I named this blog), another serious glitter producer on Etsy. I don't think I will ever get tired of polishes like these -- sheer to moderately opaque shimmery base, various sizes/shapes of glitter, and unconventional color combinations. Based on the quick swatches I did when I opened the package, the formula is FANTASTIC and the polish bases seem nicely pigmented (meaning I could probably wear them alone and not have to bother with a base!).

Check out "Cha-Cha Twist" and "Very Peacock-ish" (my apologies for the blurry picture, my hands did NOT want to stay still today!):

HEX HEAVEN! I need to get some better pictures, because "Very Peacock-ish" even has bar glitter in there with all that hex! And no matter how many brands put out a "mermaid teal" shade, I will always need to have them all! Love, love, LOVE! And "Cha-Cha Twist" has red square glitter too! I'm really digging square glitter these days.

And last but not least,  "Plum and Plummer":

Purple is my favorite color for polish, hands down. I usually have to talk myself out of doing purple manis every day! This is a really pretty plummy shade with silver hex glitter that stands out nicely. I have a feeling I'm going to like this one alot!

Be sure to check out both Lacquistry (though Jenna is on a much deserved vacation at the time of this post!) and All That Glitters  on Etsy -- if you love glitter (like me!) you NEED some of these polishes!

NOTD: Zoya "Freja" and Glitter Gal "10 to Midnight"

After I posted the sneak peek of my Glitter Gal order from Llarowe, I couldnt stop staring at "10 to Midnight"........so on the nails it went!

I started with a base of Zoya "Freja", just one coat. I really want to love Freja on its own, but it always goes all brush-strokey on me! But here, i think it served well as a base for the 2 coats of "10 to Midnight" (cause i wasnt sure if 1 would be enough holo lol).

The holo is subtle in artificial light:

Sunlight brings out even more of the rainbow goodness:

Then, out of curiousity, i took a pic with the flash on:

POW!

Im absolutely in love! It looks so simple - an innocuous charcoal grey, but in the right light the holo really pops! Here's one more shot (cause my mani matched my wallet!):

I think this last picture is the closest to real life color. As of late I've been taking most pictures with my Iphone, which works out fairly well. The unaltered shots come out good in certain lights, and using the Instagram app lets me mess with the brightness and different filters to try and showcase the true color. We just got our new camera and lenses, so I'm trying to learn it as fast as I can! The macro lens is really cool, I can't wait to post some up-close and personal glitter shots!!!

Polish Peep Show: Glitter Gal "10 to Midnight" and "Orange Sparkle"

The title sounds scandalous, but don't be afraid! Polish Peep Show is the time for me to show you just a peek of new polishes as I receive them, and give you an idea of what might be coming up in future posts -- but bottle shots only! Just a little teaser :)

Today's Polish Peep Show is a mini-haul from Llarowe, a great US retailer of international and hard to find brands. Most notably Llarowe carries Lynnderella polishes during their rare availability, but they also carry Ozotic, Picture Polish, A-England, Glitter Gal, and more. And Lean Ann, the driving force behind Llarowe, is a super sweet and hardworking lady!

During a recent sale, I picked up Glitter Gal's "10 to Midnight" and "Orange Sparkle". I haven't had the chance to try any Glitter Gal plishes, so I was really excited to get them at a discount. Side note about Glitter Gal polishes, the bottles are smaller than most brands. That was the original deterrent for me in buying them, but sale = buy all the things!

 Check them out:

"10 to Midnight" (left) is a gorgeous charcoal linear holo, and "Orange Sparkle" (right) is a burnt orange sort-of frost with holo sparkle. OS was an impulse purchase -- though orange is my favorite color, I don't usually go for it on my hands. But, since it was only around $7, I had to try it out (I'm a sucker for a deal)! 10TM was  a serious lemming -- and my first linear holo (aside from Nicole by OPI "Make a Comet-ment", which I've only every used for frankening). I am super excited to try these out!

Check out Llarowe for Glitter Gal polishes and much more! I am dying to get my hands on some of the Hits and A-England polishes ASAP!

Adventures In Stamping: Foil and hand painted details

 Today, I decided to test out the new Shany stamping plates that my thoughtful boyfriend got for me :) It's so cute that he pays attention to what I'm babbling about when I get into polish mode!

For this mani, I used 2 coats of Zoya "Trixie" as a base. I scored "Trixie" during Zoya's recent promo for 2 free polishes. I wasn't sure i needed a silver foil but swatches were making me drool. I'm so glad i did wind up getting it! I stamped over with Konad Special Polish in black, and then filled in some of the little accents with Kat Von D's "Wonderchild" (purple) and "Mad Max" (blue). I think i went overboard, but it was great practice with the detail brushes - and my boyfriend is happy that the Shany plates were a success.

Here's what the final result was:

I thought it looked a bit like wallpaper, but my BFF loved it and demanded I do this look on her toes soon! Oh, just ignore my pinky -- I had started out testing another stamp (little circley guys) but it wasnt working out well so I switched to the floral design and was too lazy to redo my pinky :/

Here's another shot (Iphone, you are not disappointing with the camera):

All in all, it really was fun to play with the stamps and practice with the detail brushes. I have very unsteady hands, so I need LOTS of time to get used to filling in small details! And, it just so happens that today ANOTHER set of stamping plates arrived (courtesy of boyfriend), so keep an eye out for more stamping posts in the near future!

NOTD: Essie "Turquoise and Caicos" & Nostalgic Nail Lacquer "Duckie"

For my first NOTD, I had to go with some standout glitter! I love nothing more than a good hearty glitter topcoat on any and every color. Essie "Turquoise & Caicos" is a creamy turquoise (as the name would suggest....), 3 coats used here for opacity over Julep Nail Therapy and Orly Bonder. Im not a huge fan of cream polishes on their own, so I needed some kind of shimmer or glitter to accentuate the color and add some sparkle!

I discovered Nostalgic Nail Lacquer on Etsy while on a mission to find some pretty hand made polishes. I was getting sick of every brand putting out the same collection at the same time and needed something fresh and new. Nostalgic did that and more! "Duckie" is a pale teal jelly base with large chartreuse hex glitter, and smaller green and teal glitter guys too. I adore the color combination -- the hex glitter really gives it something special (when was the last time you saw chartreuse glitter?!?!?). I applied 2 coats of "Duckie" once my base color was dried -- to get the hex glitter to show up somewhat evenly, I took the "dab and spread" approach. Tricky little hexes! I finished with a coat of Seche Vite, my go-to topcoat.

I used the Iphone Instagram app to take a pic and play with the color settings to try to give a fairly accurate representation of the colors. Its pretty true to life! Check it out:

The end result is just.............*sigh*. Very calming and soft, if you ask me. I usually gravitate towards dark purples, black, or multi glitter polishes, so I was quite surprised at how much I enjoyed a pale aqua mani!

I'll be posting a more in-depth review of Nostalgic Nail Lacquer's "Bizarre Teenage Love Triagle" trio this coming week, but here's a peek at the trio of polishes! Squishy glittery awesomeness!!!!

Check out Nostalgic Nail Lacquer on Etsy for more pretty polishes! The trio above is sold out but set to be restocked soon. The "Truly Outrageous" collection is amazing too (that review is coming soon as well!)

The Basics

Hi Everybody!

I thought I'd start off my blog with a little about me, why I'm writing this blog, and my stash! Im still learning how to use my new camera ( I hate technology!!) so any advice about how to make the pictures turn out better would be welcome!

About me -- I'm 30 years old, live in the NYC metro area, just got laid off from my job (well, I kind of quit, it was a mutual agreement) and now finally have the time to dedicate to a blog! I live with my boyfriend, his 2 dogs and my 2 cats (we refer to the house as "The Zoo" sometimes!). I'm the eldest of 4 children and the only girl, and have an awesome -- and slightly insane -- family and close group of friends.

The whole goal of my blog is just to share things that make me happy. Mostly that translates to nail polish! I enjoy finding interesting color combinations, frankening my own polish, and attempting nail art -- I'm not great at it, but I'm improving the more I practice. Now if only my shaky hands would cooperate!!

Just because I'm writing a blog about nail polish doesn't mean I think I know everything about polish. I certainly do not. Everything posted here is a learning experience -- from the polishes, to nail art techniques, even down to the actual act of blogging!

For my very first post, here's some pics of my stash! Im still working on a list of all my polishes, but I'm sure anyone reading this blog will be able to tell what most of the shades are! Hopefully all of them will be featured in NOTD posts or reviews, but eventually I'll have the list up if anyone is interested.

My collection is housed is 2 rotating polish racks, each holding approximately 144 polishes. They are not full, probably 1 and 1/4 full at this point. My wonderful boyfriend got me the first one, which was full instantly, and I just picked up the second one a few days ago. I can't tell you how much it has helped me to keep my stash organized, as well as help me with creative mani ideas. Sometimes I forget whats in my collection -- I get focused on certain shades or brands for a while, and then one day BAM! Oh hello, I forgot about you little sparkly polish!

This is what the racks look like (one side, of course):

And here are the shelves! Let's start with purple (my favorite!), first 2 shelves:

3rd and 4th purple shelves:

Purple #5, looking sad and empty! Hmm, should I get more?:

Now onto black and dark grey!:

Followed by light grey and silver:

Brown and white/cream have 2 shelves:

Now blues, shelf 1 and 2:

Blues 3 and 4:

Last little blue guy:

Greens! 1 and 2:

3rd and 4th green shelves:

Time for pink! Just these 2 shelves, but I'm sure that will grow!:

Red and orange are below pinks -- Just one red, orange is shelf 1 of 2:

Orange part deux:

Last, but not least..........flakies and gold/copper!:

Phew! I never was one to buy just one of anything.............


I hope you enjoyed a peek at my polish stash! Comments are more than welcome :)

P.S. -- Im seeing very quickly how off the colors in the pictures are -- anyone have any good tips for getting more true-to-life colors? I have a light box setup coming in the mail, but...........HELP!

Hello everyone! Welcome to All Things Glitter! I started this blog to share my passion for nail polish -- and clearly, my favorite finish is glitter! Not to say every post needs to involve glitter, but most probably will! Beyond nail polish, I'll also showcase jewelry, cosmetics, clothing -- anything pretty and sparkly!

Stay tuned for updates -- unfortunately my camera took a turn for the worse so no real posting will begin until I get that sorted out!

--ATG